The Changing South

Poverty

According to City Data (2009), Chicago residents with income below the poverty level is 21.6 percent compared to the whole state at 13.3 percent. The number of children below poverty level in city of Chicago is 31.2 percent compared to the state of Illinois which is at 18.6 percent. The poverty rate among high school graduates who are not in families in Chicago is 18 percent while in the state of Illinois it is at 16.2 percent.

Employment

Chicago is one of the cities was suffering even before the mortgage crisis and the recession that followed. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says unemployment rates have fallen in 11 of the state's 12 metro areas. However, since 2006 the unemployment rate in Chicago has been climbing, and in January of 2010 reached the height of 11.1%. In Chicago people are more likely to find jobs in the high tech industries and health care. The high tech industry (professional services) accounts for 15 percent of jobs while health care accounts for 18 percent of jobs. Manufacturing and education account for a very small percentage of jobs.

http://www.progressillinois.com/sites/progressillinois.com/files/imagecache/content_scale/pi-images/chicago_poverty.jpg

http://www.horizonmapping.net/projects/tmc/tmc_gallery/poverty_maps/chicago_poverty_2k.jpg

Information Retrieved from: 

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Chicago-Illinois.html

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110922/NEWS02/110929938/chicagos-jobless-rate-rises-to-10-4-in-august

http://www.chicagoilzip.com/